Kraft Heinz, a multinational food corporation, has made the announcement that it will begin the process of removing food coloring from existing products and will not introduce any new products that use food coloring. In response to a recent demand from the Trump administration to prohibit the use of artificial food coloring, this action has been taken.
A statement issued by the Kraft Heinz Company on June 17 highlighted the fact that “nearly 90 percent” of the goods manufactured by Kraft Heinz in the United States do not include any Food, Drug, or Cosmetic (FD&C) colors. The corporation has committed to removing the coloring from all of its goods by the end of the year 2027, even those that currently include it.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and Marty Makary, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, made the announcement in April that they intend to prohibit the use of artificial food dyes. They cited the fact that these dyes are a component of an ongoing system that, as Kennedy has stated in the past, has been permitted to “mass poison” younger generations.
Despite the fact that Kennedy claimed to have “reached an understanding” with food makers, there was no actual ban in effect at the time. On April 22, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement in which it said that it was going to “initiate the process” to “revoke authorization” for citrus red #2 and orange B, as well as “phase out” “petroleum-based synthetic dyes.” This statement gave the impression that the FDA was easing off on these early announcements. However, according to a statement made by a dietitian named Dr. Jessica Knurick to People at the time, citrus red #2 and orange B are dyes that “we don’t really use anymore,” with the exception of one that is sometimes used in orange peels.
Nevertheless, Kraft Heinz has made a commitment to begin “removing colors where it is not critical to the consumer experience; or replacing FD&C colors with natural colors; or reinventing new colors and shades where matching natural replacements are not available.” This promise was made in response to a recent announcement made by the company.
Additionally, the North America President of Kraft Heinz, Pedro Navio, said in the company’s statement that two of the company’s flagship products do not contain any dyes: The year 2016 was the year that we made the decision to eliminate all artificial colors, preservatives, and flavors from our beloved Kraft Mac & Cheese. Artificial dyes have never been used in the production of our world-famous Heinz Tomato Ketchup; the red color is simply a result of using the finest tomatoes in the world.
According to The Washington Post, the modification will have an effect on beverage mixes such as Kool-Aid and Crystal Light, in addition to Jell-O and Jet-Puffed Marshmallows.
